1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and an imaging apparatus, each of which is equipped with a movable display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Imaging apparatuses such as digital still cameras and digital camcorders which are constructed to allow the orientation and the angle of a display (displayer) for displaying images (visual images) to be adjusted relative to a body of the imaging apparatus to enhance the convenience of photographing and handling of the imaging apparatus are known in the art. A hinge mechanism (so-called a variable angle mechanism) which supports the display in a manner to allow the display to rotate about one or more than one axis, and a link mechanism which supports the display by a plurality of links (arms) that are connected via pins are known as support mechanisms for the aforementioned movable (angle-adjustable) type of display. In addition, a support structure for the display like that shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-303104 (Patent Literature 1) in which a concave curved surface and a convex curved surface that are in surface contact with each other to be slidable on each other are formed on a body of the imaging apparatus and the display side, respectively, to allow the display to slide along the concave curved surface and the convex curved surface is also known in the art.
The support mechanism using the conventional hinge mechanism or the conventional link mechanism is limited in flexibility in setting of the orientation of the display. When the hinge mechanism is used, sometimes the position of the display largely deviates with respect to a photographing optical axis upon the display being rotated about the axis (axes), which makes it difficult to control the composition. In close-up (macro) photography in particular, the distance between the display of the imaging apparatus and a photographic object is short, so that even a slight shake or a slight positional deviation of the user or the imaging apparatus exerts a great influence on the composition, which makes it difficult to control the composition by intuition if the deviation in position of the display with respect to a photographing optical axis is great, thus causing stress for the user.
The support mechanism using curved surfaces like that disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is higher in flexibility in setting of the orientation of the display than either of the aforementioned hinge mechanism and the aforementioned link mechanism. However, since the support mechanism disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is constructed so that a guide groove(s) (having a straight line or a cross-shaped profile in a developed view) is formed on one of a concave curved surface and a convex curved surface which are in surface contact with each other, and that a slide pin(s) which is engaged in the guide groove is formed on the other of the concave curved surface and the convex curved surface so that the concave curved surface and the convex curved surface can slide on each other while making the slide pin slide in the guide groove, the moving direction of the display when the tilting direction of the display is changed is restricted. For instance, in the case of the cross-shaped guide groove, when the user desires to change the inclination (orientation) of the display between two adjacent tilting directions of the four tilting directions along the cross-shaped groove, the user is required to first slide the display until the guide pin moves back to the center of the guide groove (the intersection point of the cross-shaped groove) and subsequently slide the display in a different tilting direction (desired tilting direction); hence, it is troublesome to change the orientation of the display, i.e., to change the tilting direction of the display from one tilting direction to another.
Additionally, also in technical fields other than the field of imaging apparatuses, electronic apparatuses equipped with a display which is adjustable in orientation and angle with respect to a main body have similar problems, so that there has been a demand to improve the operability of the display when the orientation thereof is changed while increasing the flexibility in setting the orientation and the angle of the display.